23-Jan-2004
The third stop was at Gabriel, the small village that was little more than former quarters for the serfs of the Khushrenada castle. Even before Noin could see the village, she saw the castle. Its tall shadows looming over the village in the setting sun.
There were no roads that led directly in to Gabriel, and Noin had to hike most of the way. She was almost grateful for it, for the village looked untouched by the industrial age.
This was Marcus Heris's home. It disturbed her that she could no longer remember his features clearly. She did remember that he was very tall and muscular. The first time she set her eyes on the class of 85, she had seen his dark head towering over that of his classmates.
Marcus Heris, Age 17, 2nd Division, Unit 4. There had been no address on Marcus' tag, just the simple line, Gabriel. Almost like an afterthought. Looking at Gabriel, Noin understood why.
But as she breached the village's bounds, she saw ubiquitous scorch marks... as if someone was intentionally marking the houses. She recognized the burn pattern... standard MS unit left distinct scorch marks, she remembered telling her cadets. The people will remember you and your sins, so watch where you are firing at.
Of course Gabriel would have seen war. She had been naive to think that village had not seen the wonders of the modern age. Noin shook her head, and walked closer to examine one of the scorch marks. It looked as weathered as the wall that bore it, all part of the memories of the architecture.
Somewhere near her, a window opened and shut quickly. Noin wondered who were the last strangers that the village had seen. Had it been OZ? Or the Rockfellers? There were no one about that she could talk to, and she wondered what people would do if she actually knocked on someone's doors.
As she considered her next move, a woman in a faded blue scarf emerged from one fo the scorched houses.
"Are you lost?" She looked like she was around her mid-sixties, but her voice was clear and sounded like that of a much younger woman.
"I'm looking for the Heris family," Noin said.
The woman look unsurprised, but then again, perhaps after all that had happened in the last five years, nothing would surprise the people of these parts any more.
"You had better come with me then," she said and led Noin toward the other end of the village.
They walked in silence, and Noin could hear the disquieting silence of the whole village.
"Hardly anyone's left," the woman said when they reached one of the larger dwellings, the woman opened the door without knocking.
"Livia, there is someone here to see you," the woman said as she went in.
"I'm in the kitchen," a second voice replied.
Noin followed her in her guide into the dwelling and through a large room into what appeared to be the kitchen.
There was middle age woman cooking on a brick stove. She had dark features that immediately reminded Noin of Marcus.
"Who are you and what do you want?" the second woman asked without turning around.
"My name is Lucrezia Noin, I'm here to... " before Noin could finish, the woman had swung around, her eyes widening.
"Lieutenant Noin?"
"Yes, I'm... was Marcus's commanding officer," Noin said.
The woman immediately wiped her hands on her and offered Noin her hand. Noin shook it and felt the calluses.
"I'm Livia Heris, Marcus was my son," Livia Heris said. "That's my sister, Julia. So what brings you to Gabriel?" As Livia talked, she turned back to her cooking.
"I--," I came to bring your son's tag and the OZ flag, Noin didn't say. Standing in what must have been Marcus' home, the gesture seemed endless moot. It had been three years.
"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Julia said. "Livia always cooks too much food anyway."
Livia laughed, but it made Noin cringe. "I cooked for a growing boy for seventeen years, it's not a habit you break out of easily."
I'm sorry about your son, Noin wanted to say. I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier, Noin didn't say.
But Livia did not seem to expect Noin to respond in any way. She simply said, "I'm almost done here, why don't you go into the living room. You can help Julia with the fire. It's going to get cold soon."
"Fire?"
Julia and Livia both laughed. Julia pulled Noin's arm along back to the first room they had entered when the came in, "We've got a wood furnace. I don't suppose you OZ officers seen one of these."
Noin shook her head. "What can I do to help?"
"Livia was only kidding when she said you should help me with this," Julia said as she began to put wood into a black monstrosity. "It's a one person job."
"Do you live here?" Noin asked because she didn't know what else to day.
"Nowadays," Julia answered, "the place you saw me coming out of was my house. Now that my husband and son are dead, I live with Livia. But you got to go home sometimes to make sure you don't forget things."
"I'm sorry," Noin said, and immediately regretted it. Julia didn't need nor want her sympathy.
"Callus... my son... died protecting Duke Khushrenada back in 82," Julia said. "There was nothing but pride in that."
The words were spoken with obvious candor, and Noin felt shaken by the conviction she heard.
"It was harder for Livia to deal with Marcus's passing." Julia said more softly.
Killed in a terrorist bombing, OZ had told the families. Noin was suddenly glad that none of the families knew who the supposed terrorist was. How quickly people forget those that had sinned against them, but she felt a surge of resentment toward--
"Did you ever meet our Duke?" Julia turned away from the furnace and regarded Noin.
"Yes, several times," Noin said. There had been something distant about Treize Khushrenada, and Noin had never tried look too closely.
"Me too," Julia said. "Made me cry each time."
Treize Khushrenada's men loved him fiercely, Zechs had told Noin once. Noin had never quite believed him until she confronted Treize's faction. But Treize had never tried to avenge his soldiers. Treize allowed Chang Wufei to...
"The day Duke Khushrenada died, the whole place went into mourning," Julia continued. "I had never seen my husband cry, not even when Callus passed on. But that day, he sobbed like a child. We both did."
"Greatest leader we'd ever had," Livia said as she came out of the kitchen carrying a giant bowl. "We gave our sons gladly."
Noin forced herself to take a deep breath. The simple devotion that these women put in Treize was... unthinkable. But the two women did not seem to notice her reaction, or if they did they did not comment on it. They only moved to set up the table.
Collecting herself with most of her effort, she joined them. The table was nothing more of a wooden plank than anything else. The bowls though, were of fine china. Noin did not recognize the blue iconography carefully painted on the bowls, but it looked opulent and expansive.
"My husband's family made all the china for the Khushrenada castle," Julia said when she saw Noin looking over the bowls. "God knows why we still keep these around. But we do."
Livia poured a thick stew into the bowls, and gestured for Noin to sit next to her while Julia walked over to a nearby stand. She opened it up to reveal an old gramophone. Noin remembered that Treize had kept one in his office, but she had not seen one anywhere else since then. As a dark disk began to spin, Julia came back to the table and sat on the other side of Noin.
The music, when it came on, sounded old and sober, full of organs and heavy strings.
They ate to the sound of music. And though Noin could smell the harsh spices of the stew, she barely tasted the food.
"So, what brings you to Gabriel?" Julia asked as the music paused briefly between movements.
"I suppose you came here to give me Marcus' tag," Livia said as the music started again.
"I--, yes." Noin took out of the tag. She had wrapped it in an OZ flag, and as she unfolded the fabric and held out the small medal rectangle to Livia, she felt like crying. "I'm sorry it took me so long."
Livia did not look like she heard the apology. Her eyes were focused on the tag.
"Thank you," Livia said. Her eyes were dry, but her voice was shaking.
"I'm sorry," Noin said again.
Julia reached over and squeezed Noin's hand. "Thank you. It means a lot to us to have some one recognize that they were... " Julia's voice faltered.
"I was proud to have been their commanding officer," Noin said. "Marcus died serving his country, serving OZ, serving his duty."
Livia looked back at Noin and smiled.
And Noin bit her lips so the tears would not fall out.
Gabriel was the third stop of thirty-seven stops.
The End
(:./draco/gabriel)
